


What About Wes?

by jbcorman



Category: Common Law
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, M/M, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Shooting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-23
Updated: 2016-01-07
Packaged: 2018-04-05 20:18:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4193511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jbcorman/pseuds/jbcorman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wes is bisexual and in a relationship. He hasn't told anyone, but that doesn't stop them from finding out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rozelle

Rozelle found out first.

She had just gone to the bank to make a deposit when she noticed Wes in the line across from her's. Though the man wasn't facing her, Wes held a sense of power and refinement to him that Rozelle hadn't seen on anyone else and made him unmistakable.

If it had been any other member of the therapy group, Rozelle would have gone over to talk to them, but Wes had always seemed so averse to everyone that she doubted he would appreciate her company. Luckily his attention seemed more to be focused on the person standing next to him so he hadn't yet noticed her staring.

Looking at the man at Wes's side, Rozelle noticed that he was rather attractive. While she was to far away to get a good look at him, he looked to be in his early 40’s with messy brown hair, a black leather jacket, dark wash jeans, and what looked like combat boots. The man was smiling, but he held a certain edge to his stance that made Rozelle want to lower her eyes.

She tuned forward and took a step as her line moved.

Turning back toward the two men, she continued to watch them with interest. Wes seemed....comforatable? talking to his companion. Which was strange in an of itself, but not unplesent to see. He even looked almost shy as the man smiles at him. A soft smile tugged at Rozelle's own lips. Wes was always so uptight and grouchy that while it _was_ bizarre to see him so calm and relaxed, it was also nice. She was pulled from her thoughts as a loud, obnoxious, giggle sounded behind her. Turning around, Rozelle rolled her eyes as she noticed the same couple that had gotten in trouble for practically having sex on the bank floor when she first came, was at it again. The two were practically hanging off of each other, her legs opened invitingly with her boyfriend's knee practically jammed into his crotch. Rozelle snorted and turned back to the front on the line. She was all for public displays of affection, but there were lines. Out of curiosity, she glanced back to Wes and his strange companion. Her eyebrow shot up at what she saw.

Both had turned to face the couple. Wes's face, now visible, had a look of disgust on it, while his companion had a look of mild amusement. The dark haired man was standing only a hair's breath away from the blonde. Wes, for his part, didn't seem to notice. That alone spoke volumes. Wes was a man who didn’t even like to be hugged (the one time anybody had even tried to even pat the blonde’s shoulder, Wes had stiffened up so fast that the other thought he had had a mild seizure) let alone have anybody he didn’t know less than three feet from him at any given time. About the only people he would willingly let into his personal space were Travis, his ex-wife Alex, and Dr. Ryan (Though Dakota and Mrs. Dumont seemed to slowly be worming their way into his good graces). Rozelle wasn’t jealous about this, per se, she understood that Wes had issues that he was slowly yet surely overcoming, but seeing him get so close with an unknown man sent a spark of annoyance through her.

The annoyance quickly turned to understanding as the man slid his arm underneath Wes’s open suit jacket and wrapped it around the smaller man’s waist. The man then pulled Wes closer until they were pressed together. Rozelle’s jaw dropped open. Despite being in therapy together for the past year and a half, and witnessing a myriad of emotions from him, Rozelle had never before seen a look quite like this on Wes’s face. Not even when they were talking about Alex. 

Looking at him now, Rozelle couldn’t help but think she was looking at a different person. Wes had always been good looking (both she and Mrs. Dumont had had lengthy discussions about Wes’s beauty), but now, he was gorgeous. The tension and stress normally present on his face was gone. In its place was a softness that seemed to melt at least ten years from the man. As the brunette pulled him closer, Wes automatically leaned into the embrace. 

Something warm rose in Rozelle’s chest to see the normally uptight, pretentious detective look so content. The brunette turned his face into the blonde's hair and pressed a kiss to his temple. Wes relaxed further into the other man's grasp, closed his eyes, and let a small smile steal over his lips. Rozelle turned away from the pair.

If Wes wasn’t ready to share his new found love interest with the group, then Rozelle wasn’t going to bring it up. From the looks of it, Wes didn't really need her opinion on it anyway.

Though she didn’t envy him the conversation he and Travis would undoubtedly have once the latter found out.


	2. Peter

Peter hadn’t meant to spy, really he hadn’t, he had just gone out to the park to walk his and Dakota’s dog when he noticed a flash of blue amongst the green. Looking up, he couldn’t help but chuckle. Only Wes, _only_ Wes, would wear a suit to a public park. Shelly let out a soft yip at his side and Peter absentmindedly patted the boxer’s head. She nipped his fingers. Peter turned his head about to scold her when another flash of color caught his eye. Looking up, he felt the words die in his throat. A large German Shepard had run up to Wes and now sat comfortably at the detective’s side as it waited patiently for Wes to pick up the ball it had dropped by his feet. 

If Wes hadn’t been facing in his direction, Peter would not have believed it was the same detective that constantly bitched in group.

It wasn’t the fact that Wes had a dog with him, the man had already shown that he was willing to get an animal, or, more specifically, a dog, no what really got Peter was the ease with which the detective lowered himself down to pick up the drool covered ball and threw it into the distance. It was a little too hands on, especially for a guy who carried around two pocket sanitizers in each of his pockets (the ones in his pants and the ones in his jacket). It was kind of refreshing to see the man being semi normal. Once one got over the strangeness of it all that is.

Peter thought about going over to talk to the man, Shelly wouldn’t mind making a new friend, when he noticed another man walk up to the detective. The dog, who had just come back with the ball, rushed past Wes and straight up to the new arrival. The man laughed and the dog dropped the ball, jumped into the man’s waiting arms, and preceded to plant kisses all over his face. Peter flinched knowing exactly what was coming. He could practically hear Wes’s teeth grinding together at the dogs improper behavior. Peter’s hand tightened on Shelly’s leash as he watched the blonde detective walk over to where his dog was slobbering over the stranger. Peter braced himself for the tirade.

Only to drop the leash and stair as the man lent over the excited animal to placed a kiss on Wes's lips.

The dog yipped happily at the two men. Wes smiled as he pulled away from his companion, gently patting the dog’s head. Peter was too far away from the men to hear when they started talking, but Wes appeared to be comfortable in the other man’s presence. Peter watched curiously as the two men walked away.

Well, this was certainly an interesting turn of events.

Peter’s attention was pulled away from the blonde detective at the loud bark that came from his left. Looking to the side, Peter cursed as he saw Shelly’s tail disappear amongst the foliage.


	3. Money

When Money heard there was an unexpected visitor in his lot, he just assumed it was Travis stopping by for help again. What he didn’t expect was to find a beat up and obviously drugged Detective Mitchell stumbling out from behind a row of cars. The blonde looked like he had been through the ringer. His clothes were ripped and covered in dirt, his hair was matted down with a sticky substance that looked suspiciously like blood, and he kept swaying dangerously from side to side.

“Mitchell?”

The detective looked up at Money and stared blankly at him for a few second before giving the bigger guy a goofy smile. Money frowned. True he didn’t know Mitchell that well, but, based on the few times the two had met, Money knew that blonde was tight laced and straight shooting with the sense of humor of a rock. Seeing him like this was so far out of the realm of normal for the man that it was a little bit scary.

“M’ny,” the detective slurred. “How’s go?” Money felt himself stiffen. Damn but the kid was gone. Wes tried to take a step forward only to stumble and drop like a ton of bricks. Money rushed to the detective’s side and placed his fingers against the pale throat, letting out a sharp breath when he felt the steady beat under his fingers. The blonde appeared to be unconscious and, based on how the detective had been moving, probably wouldn’t be awake for at least a couple of hours. That is, if Mitchell hadn’t had his head bashed in. Turning the blonde’s head to the side, Money carefully inspected the wound there. Pressing gently around Wes's head, Money couldn’t help but let out another sigh. Nothing felt out of place or cracked and the wound itself looked like nothing more than a scratch that gone too deep. Well, that was one less thing to worry about.

Knowing that he couldn’t leave the detective lying on the ground (not only because he actual liked the guy, but also because it would be bad for business if the cops came by and found the blonde) Money scooped up the detective's body and turned to walk inside. The boys around him gave him a wide birth, some of them still with their weapons raised, as they kept their eyes on Mitchell’s body.

“Well,” Money barked as he walked, “don’t just stand there, get the backroom ready and get back to work!”

The boys scattered. 

Money rolled his eyes.

Walking into the building, Money made his way through the piles of car parts and tools and toward the back room. The room itself was nothing much, more of a square box with some chairs and a giant cooler stocked with beer, but along one whole wall was a slightly ratty, russet colored couch. One of his boys had thrown a thick brown blanket over the cushions. It was on this couch that Money laid Mitchell’s body. It was only slightly disconcerting to the Samoan that the detective didn’t so much as twitch as he was placed down. Well shit. Reaching over to one of the tables, Money grabbed the first aid supplies that had been set there and got to work cleaning the matted blonde hair.

After he had patched up the younger man, Money went back to work, stopping only occasionally to check on Mitchell and to rotate out the guardsman as needed. He tried to call Travis, but the man had mentioned something about going on a undercover assignment for a few days and being out of range. Though it was dangerous to keep the unconscious detective, Money couldn’t risk dropping him off at the hospital; with all the security cameras around, Money couldn’t risk himself or any of his men having their pictures taken. So he did what he could make Wes comfortable as he waited for the latter to regain consciousness.

Six hours passed.

Money was on his last car of the day before bundling the detective up and going home (he still hadn’t gotten in touch with Travis and Money didn’t think his little brother would appreciate him leaving his vulnerable partner alone in a darkened warehouse filled with stolen cars in many states of disassemble) when he heard a noise. Looking up, Money felt his guard immediately go up as a man slipped out from behind a barrel of parts with his gun raised. 

“Where is he?” the man snarled, his blue eyes glaring dangerously.

Money raised his eyebrow. “Who’s asking?”

“Detective Sebastian Crufix, Santa Barbara Police Department. Now, I’m going to ask you again, where is he?”

Money took a moment to assess the man in front of him. He was about half a head shorter than Money himself with a sharp jaw, medium length brown hair, and was dressed all in black. The fact that the man had somehow gotten into Money’s garage without him or any of his men noticing told Money that this man was trained. Somewhere in England going by the accent.

When Money didn’t answer, Crufix took a step forward. “Look,” he growled, “You either tell me where Wes is, or I am going to assume that you are holding him against his will.”

Money raised his eyebrow. So this guy was looking for Wes, huh? Well, there was a reason Money didn’t trust so easily.

“Who?”

“Detective Wesley Mitchell.

“And what makes you think this Detective Mitchell is here?” Money knew he was pushing it by the way Crufix’s hands tightened on his gun.

“This is the only logical place he would go if he was hurt, especially if T-Bone told him to come here.”

Money’s other eyebrow joined the first as he folded his arms over his chest. “You know T-Bone?”

Crufix snorted. “Your little brother never did think things through.”

A smiled tugged at the corner of Money’s mouth. Dropping his arms, he gave the other man a nod. “Sounds like T-Bone.” He said. 

There was a moment of tense silence as the two stood off against each other. Finally, the detective broke the silence. “So, are you going to tell me where Wes is, or do I have to call for back up?”

“Show me your badge.” The Samoan said. If this man wanted Mitchell, Money was going to make damn sure he was legit. Travis would kill him if he let his blonde partner get carried off by the man who had hurt him in the first place.

Crufix looked like he wouldn’t have any problem shooting Money in the face. Instead, he slowly took one hand off his gun a moved it down to the hem of his shirt and lifted the left side up. Money’s eyes immediately went to the badge at his side, his eyes skimming the gold critically. Drawing out looking at the metal for longer than was necessary, Money finally returned his eyes to the other man’s face. The man hadn’t changed his stance, but he seemed to be waiting to see what Money would do.

Deciding that the man had some merit to him, Money nodded at the gun in his hand. “You planning on using that thing?”

The detective’s eye twitched, but he lowered his gun and slid it into the holster strapped to his thigh. “Only if you insist on stalling.”

Money nodded again. Knowing the detective would follow him, the Samoan turned and made his way toward the backroom.

The guard that Money had posted outside the door was long gone, along with everyone else, so Money let himself into the room. The blonde was right where Money had left him, on the couch and out cold. There was a sharp curse and Money was pushed aside as Crufix rushed across the room to Mitchell’s side.

The Brit immediately dropped to his knees by the blonde detective’s side and began poking and prodding the younger man. Said man groaned as the probing fingers went closer to the bandaged wound.

“Thank God.” Crufix said as his shoulders slumped in relief. Only to tense again the next second. Rounding on Money, he demanded, “What happened?”

“Kid stumbled into my yard looking like that. Patched him us as best I could.”

“Did he tell you anything?”

Money shook his head. “Been out since he got here.

This seemed to put the detective on edge. “And just how long has he been here?”

Money shrugged. “couple hours.”

Crufix shot to his feet. “And you didn’t think to take him to the hospital or something?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Money snapped, “The boy is just fine, just a little drugged up.”

“And how do you know he wasn’t overdosed, huh? What if he had died lying here on this couch?”

The Samoan felt his irritation rise, but before he could respond to the other man, there was another pained groan. 

Crufix whipped back around and dropped back to Mitchell’s side. “Wes. Wes, baby, wake up.”

“I take it you two know each other.” Money said.

Crufix didn’t take his eyes off of Mitchell, choosing instead to brush bit of the blonde’s tacky hair back. “Wes?” The blonde stirred slightly, but didn’t open his eyes.

Money stood by the door a few seconds, watching the two for a moment. Then he backed out and closed the door. Whether this was the right thing to do or not, Crufix didn't appear to want to harm Wes. Just to be on the safe side though, Money positioned himself near the window. If Crufix thought he could hurt Mitchell without repercussions then he had another thing coming. Though if the way they were making out was any indication, both detective's were going to be just fine.


	4. Randi

Randi wasn’t blind, not that anyone ever had the nerve to tell her that, but the point still stood. She had known about Wes and Sebastian for weeks now, ever since a particularly crazed looking Sebastian demanded her dog after a bust went south and Wes disappeared. At first, Randi had been worried about trusting her beloved Hudson to a visiting detective she barely knew, but she had wanted to find the missing blonde as much as everyone else, so she complied.

Two days after Wes had been confirmed safe, Sebastian had come down to see her again. Any reservations she had about the man disappeared when Hudson, who had been laying at her feet, practically knocked the man down in an attempt to swipe his tongue all over the man’s face. Instead of being offended at the dog’s behavior, the elder detective just laughed before plunging his hands into Hudson’s fur. Hudson barked happily at the treatment. Randi couldn’t help but smile.

“I guess you made quite an impression on him.” She said.

Sebastian smiled back at her. “I guess that means I’m in the clear?” he asked as he knelt down by Hudson’s side.

Randi pretended to think about it. “I’m not sure,” she looked at her dog, “what do you think, Hudson?” the dog, who was still getting scratched, looked at his master with his tongue hanging out and his tail thumping a steady rhythm onto Sebastian’s leg. Randi looked back at the other detective. “Looks like that’s a yes.” The two chuckled.

“So, what are you doing down here?” Randi asked.

Sebastian gave Hudson two solid pats on the rump before standing up. All of a sudden, he looked nervous. "To apologize.”

Randi felt the smile slip from her face a little. Her thoughts immediately went to Hudson. The dog hadn’t seemed distressed when he had been returned to her, in fact, he seemed in perfect health, but that didn’t mean something hadn’t happened. Not wanting to jump to any conclusions, Randi asked, “For what?”

“I know we didn’t get off on the right foot, what with me barging in here and demanding your dog, so I thought I should come and say I’m sorry.”

Relief flooded the narcotics detective. She chuckled. “It’s alright, I know you were just as worried about Wes as the rest of us.”

Sebastian rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Randi had to force herself not to coo. The man was just too adorable. With beautiful golden skin, high cheek bones, a slightly rugged looking face, and sharp blue eyes, Sebastian was the epitome of every woman’s wet dream. And his looks weren’t even the half of it. 

Sebastian had come to the LAPD as a member of an experimental joint task force. The idea behind it was to build connections between different precincts in order to improve efficiency. Though everyone had been on edge when the man had first walked through the door, they had all warmed up to him almost instantly. He was kind, courteous, and respectful of the other officers even though he was two steps away from being the head of his own department. When his opinion was asked for, he wasn’t condescending about it, nor did he put down the ideas of others. He was thorough in his work, but he also knew how to relax and have a good time, which made him a favorite to hang around with.

Apparently more of a favorite with some than with others. Wes was one

lucky bastard.

“I might have been worried about Wes,” Sebastian continued, “but that didn’t give me the right to speak to you the way I did.”

Randi waved off the man’s words. “Don’t worry about it.” She turned and walked back toward the line of coffee cans she had been using to train Hudson before the other detective walked in. “I’d be upset to if my boyfriend disappeared on me.” 

There was a moment of silence as she knelt down by the cans and began resetting them. Randi had to force herself not to giggle. She had never been a vindictive person and she had forgiven Sebastian the moment he had returned Hudson to her in one piece, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t tease him a little bit.

There was a shuffling of feet as Sebastian walked up to her and stopped by her side.

“You knew?” he asked.

Randi snorted. Looking up at the other detective, she said, “You’ve only been at the precinct for three weeks, not enough time to create a deep emotional connection with the people here. But, the moment Wes went missing, you busted in here, practically ripped Hudson out of my hands, and took off like you were about to tear someone’s head off.” She smiled at the light blush that appeared on Sebastian’s face. “The only person here who should have behaved that way is Travis seeing as they are partners.”

The blush on Sebastian’s face deepened, but he remained stoic. Randi watched him fondly; she could definitely see what the blonde saw in him. Rising to her feet, she continued, “Wes isn’t exactly the easiest person to get along with on a good day, he has turned many people away with his attitude, and yet, he somehow got someone almost as calm and collected as he is to practically fly off the rails. This could only mean one of two things; either you were already friends with Wes before you came here, which is highly unlikely considering I saw you two get introduced, or you are in a relationship.” Snapping her fingers, Randi called Hudson to her side. The German Shepard obediently trotted to her side and leaned into her leg. Randi gently ruffled his fur.

Sebastian was watching her with a critical eye. “But you knew before that didn’t you.”

Randi shrugged. “It wasn’t that hard to figure out.” She looked down at Hudson and gave him a sharp command. The dog immediately began sniffing the cans at his master’s feet.

The two detectives watched the Shepard sniff excitedly at the cans, by-passing each of them in search of drugs. 

“What gave us away?”

Randi looked Sebastian straight in the eye. “You’re the only one that Wes will allow to use his hand sanitizer.”

Whatever answer Sebastian had been expecting, it wasn’t that. He stared at Randi in complete disbelief, then he burst out laughing.

“Oh my God, Wes is going to love that.”

Randi smirked. “Just tell him that he better get ready for some serious teasing when he comes off medical leave.”

An evil look suddenly came over Sebastian’s face. “I have a feeling it will be funnier if I don’t.”

This time, it was Randi who burst out laughing. Poor Wes really had no idea what he was in for.


	5. Alex

Alex could always tell what mood Wes was in by the way he played the piano. When they had been married, it had been happy and joyful; whenever something happened with Travis, there would be a harsh edge to it; and when they were going through their divorce, it had been so sad and melancholy it had been almost painful. In fact, during the last few weeks of their married life, Alex could not bring herself to be in the house when she knew Wes would be there.

After the divorce was finalized and Wes had moved out, Alex had done everything she could to hide the piano from her sight, covering it with boxes of client files and court documents. She just couldn’t stand to see anything that reminded her of her ex-husband. She supposed it was selfish of her, after all they had spent three happy years together before it all fell apart. But every time she looked at the instrument, she couldn’t help but feel a spark of anger. If Wes would just stop blaming himself for something that wasn’t his fault, then they could go back to the way things used to be. The case had been horrible, there was no doubt about that, but that was the way of the lawyer, sometimes you were forced to do things that made you feel uncomfortable. Wes had known this when he sent that kid to jail knowing full well he was innocent.

No one could have predicted the teen would kill himself less than two weeks into his sentence.

It was a tragic turn of events to be sure, but Wes had taken what had happened straight to heart. He had changed after that. He had always been obsessive (with the lawn, the cleaning, and, most of all, the rules) but, after that kid had killed himself, Wes seemed to go off the deep end. After the end of his two week leave of absence, Alex would swear that all the household appliances had lost a layer of enamel due to Wes’s scrubbing.

It was worse at work.

Where before, Wes could make amazing cases for his client, he was now stuttering over every little detail to the point where he couldn’t even get through one client file. Alex had tried to talk to him about it, tried to explain that the lawyers themselves could only do what the office wanted them to do and nothing more. In retrospect, it was these words that probably led Wes to making the decision to quit. 

Alex had never understood the decision. Sure Wes had a bad case, every lawyer had at least one throughout their career, but for him to quit so easily after all the hard work he had done to get there, it was a bit unsettling. She had always assumed he was stronger than that.

She had tried again and again to coax the blonde back to the law firm, even going so far as to imply that they could get back together if only he would take his job back, but he just shut her down. 

So it was more than a little unusual when he agreed to come to a Christmas party she was holding at her house for the law firm. He hadn’t come alone of course, in the interest of keeping things from becoming awkward, Alex had invited Travis to the party too. The dark skinned detective was having the time of his life trying, and, for the most part, failing to flirt with every woman in the house excluding Alex (Travis was too much of a gentleman to ever hit of his partner’s ex-wife). After doing a cursory exam of the house to make sure nothing was being damaged or moved, Wes had disappeared into the living room. 

Everything was going well, the hours passed by merrily and not once did anyone complain to Alex about her ex-husband. She was currently in the kitchen, getting wine for some of the guests when a sudden hush fell over the guests. A brief moment of panic shot through her. What had Wes done now? Dear God, she hoped he hadn’t offended someone. Taking two steps toward the living room, she suddenly froze as the first tinkling of notes reached her ears.

A light, airy, somewhat jaunty version of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen filtered through the living room. Slowly the guest’s chatter trailed off as the music reached their ears. One by one they turned toward the living room, some of them even started to filter that direction. 

Alex didn’t need to go into the living room to know who was playing. Wes had always been particular when it came to anyone touching the piano. Even with people he knew, Wes was protective of his things and would hardly let anyone touch them, so the thought of anyone else on the baby grand just didn’t cross her mind. Standing in the kitchen, two glasses of wine in her hand, Alex could picture the blonde now; his long fingers dancing across the keyboard, a look of complete concentration on his face.

Curiosity got the better of her, however, when a deep voice began to sing along with the music.

Setting the glasses on the counter, Alex walked out of the kitchen and around the wall that separated the dining part of the house from the living room. As she expected, Wes was perched on the piano bench, his body swaying with the movement of his hands, eyes closed. For a moment, Wes looked every bit the man that Alex married nearly a decade ago. 

Then she noticed the man at his side. 

When Alex invited Wes and Travis to the party, she had expected the blonde to put up more of a fight. What she didn’t expect was for him to ask if a third party could tag along. Sebastian had been nothing if not a gentleman from the moment he had stepped foot through the door and seemed to take to those around him like a fish to water, though the fact that he was a foreigner seemed to be an object of much interest. His singing would open up a whole new realm of discussion. But that wasn’t what gave Alex pause. What did give her pause was the hand he had settled on Wes’s shoulder. Wes himself seemed comfortable with the hand and made no move to remove it.

That alone was unusual when it came to the blonde, but then, Sebastian leaned down slightly and bumped shoulders with Wes. Opening his eyes, Wes turned his head to look at the man. Alex felt her breath hitch. She knew that look. It was the look that he had given her on countless occasions, a look that, for Wes, spoke louder than a million words.

Alex felt heat rush toward her face as a wave of _jealousyconfusionrage_ filled her body. Only to be pushed down the next minute. Wes wasn’t hers, at least not anymore, but…somehow the idea of Wes moving on was just….well….she certainly didn’t expect it that was for sure. All at once, all of Wes’s previous actions made sense: the obsession with coming over to “check up on things,” the over-protectiveness, the refusal to move out of the hotel. A part of her was happy that Wes appeared to finally be moving on, but that didn’t stop her stomach from twisting into knots at the sight of the evidence. For a moment, she had the irrational desire to go over to Sebastian and rip him away from Wes’s side. That too she pushed down as she turned around and returned to the kitchen. 

Wes deserved to be happy after everything that had happened, Alex knew this.

So why did it hurt so bad?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to put up, I've been having some emotional difficulties this week.


	6. Captain Sutton

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this took so long. Life and general laziness kept getting in my way.

There were few things Captain Sutton hated about his job: suspects getting away with their crimes, having to explain to the DA that ‘no, Wes and Travis are not, in fact, dating’, and anyone disturbing his meditation time being some of the top ones. But, if he had to pick the one thing that he hated above everything else, it would be sending one of his guys undercover. In the many years he had been a cop, Sutton had seen many operations go south; his own partner had lost his life while undercover with a local drug ring. So it was no surprise that he was a little on edge as he watched the newest edition to their task force walk up to Adam Kavaero with no armor, a single ear bug, and about a hundred people between him and back up.

Adam Kavaero wasn’t a stranger to the LAPD, hell, he wasn’t even a stranger to the state of California. Kavaero was the lowest of the low, specializing in the abduction and trafficking of teenage boys. God knew all of what Kavaero did to the boys once he got hold of them, many of them had refused to talk about it, but whatever he did had left more than one of the victims traumatized beyond recognition. For as much as Kavaero was suspected, the police had never been able to connect him to any of the crimes. He was too smart to be directly linked to any of the boys, and was flat out impossible to trace once the boy’s left his “care.” At least he hadn’t been until last week.

That was when a young boy, not even fifteen, staggered into the police station bloodied, torn up, and half out of his mind.

The boy, one Robert Tyler, had been kidnapped from his home in Dallas, Texas three month prier and sold to a woman twice his age who took great pleasure in forcing him to service her Great Danes. If he refused in any way, he was thrown into a kennel much too small for him, and locked away in the basement without food, water, or light of any kind. The whole ordeal had left the former football star so jumpy and terrified that he very nearly started to cry when he noticed it had gotten dark outside.

It was beyond heartbreaking.

After they had heard the boy’s story the idea of an undercover operation had been voiced. One of their own would meet up with Kavaero and convince him that they were in the market for a sex slave. More than a little bit of danger was attached to the operation since Kavaero had a nasty habit of killing anybody he didn’t like. 

Sebastian had been the obvious choice owing to his background military history, but it had become rather obvious that this would not be an easy assignment. It had been over an hour since contact had been made, and the Englishman was making next to no progress. Kavaero had been lukewarm at best since Sebastian approached him and it hadn’t gotten any better since then. If anything, the situation appeared to be getting worse. All of the people involved were beyond tense; Sutton could hear it in the tone of their voices. It would only take one slip to turn this thing real ugly real fast. And with how many people were on the dance floor of the club Kavaero had insisted on meeting them at, it would be a blood bath.

Sutton was two steps away from calling the whole thing off when it happened. Sebastian looked toward the bar and paused before turning back to face Kavaero. The action was subtle and yet so strange that it immediately caught the Captain’s attention. He was just about to ask what had caught the detective’s attention when there was movement to his right. Wes, who had been stationed at the bar, had gotten up from his post. 

“Mitchell, what are you doing?” Sutton asked, his voice laced with panic.

Wes didn’t answer. Instead, he straightened himself, grabbed two drinks, and began walking toward the couch were the others were sitting. 

“Mitchell. Mitchell!”

“Wes.” Travis’s voice joined the Captain’s. “Wes, man, what the hell?”

Again, Wes ignored them. Weaving through the crowd, drinks held high to avoid collision, Wes made his way over to toward the cluster of criminals.

“Mitchell,” Sutton’s voice took on a desperate tone now. He couldn’t let this happen. “Mitchell, if you don’t turn around right now—“

But it was too late. Without any hesitation, the blonde detective walked straight into the lion’s pit. “Ryan, I thought that was you.” Sutton blanched. He had never, ever heard a voice like that come out of the stuck up blonde before. It didn’t even sound like Wes.

It sounded like Helen when she wanted to have sex.

Sebastian looked up, startled. Suddenly he smiled. Practically jumping to his feet, Sebastian wrapped his arms around Wes’s neck. “Thank God you’re here.” His voiced sounded loud in the microphone in Wes’s ear. “I was about two seconds away from snapping their necks.” Pulling back he said, loudly, “Gabriel! I wasn’t expecting to see you here.” 

“Well,” Wes cooed, and Sutton could hear Travis’s fake gag through the comm. line. Wes licked his lips and placed the drinks on the table before leaning into Sebastian’s personal space, “I was just here with some friends, but then they ditched me to go to some stupid concert.”

“And you stayed behind?” Sebastian stepped closer to the blonde.

Wes smiled in what Sutton could only describe as a flirty way. “Maybe I wanted to find a friend.”

Sebastian’s arm shot forward to wrap around Wes’s waist. Jerking him forward, Sebastian buried his face in Wes’s neck. “You had better be joking.”

If Sutton thought the situation couldn’t get any more surreal, he was proven wrong as Wes laughed. Pulling away from the brunette, Wes placed a kiss on Sebastian’s lips. “Like there could be anyone but you.”

A sharp clearing of a throat caused them both to turn.

Sutton felt himself stiffen. “Alright, people, look alive this might be trouble.” 

The two detectives turned around. Kavaero had risen to his feet and was currently facing the other two men. His face was deceptively neutral, but his posture was stiff and his eyes dark with distrust. “And who,” he said, voice coated in fake charm, “is this beautiful creature?” taking a step forward, Kavaero took Wes’s hand and raised it to his lips.

Maneuvering Wes so that he was pressed the brunette’s front, Sebastian placed his hands possessively on the blonde’s waist. Hooking his chin over Wes’s left shoulder, Sebastian said, “My apologies, Adam, Gabriel here never knew how to introduce himself.” Sebastian nuzzled Wes’s cheek. “Introduce yourself, pet.”

A shiver crawled up the Captain’s spine as Sebastian’s voice took on a dark edge. It was accompanied by a burning flare of anger as Wes bowed his head and let out a soft whimper. “I’m sorry.”

Sebastian growled lowly. “I don’t want you to be sorry. I want you to introduce yourself.”

Wes flinched before turning back to Kavaero who had, by now, adopted a look a curiosity. Wes kept his eyes down as he spoke. “Gabriel Turnovian, it is nice to meet you.” For several tense seconds, Kavaero said nothing. Then, in a move quicker than should have been possible, he grabbed Wes’s chin. Sutton tensed as Kavaero tilted the blonde's head this way and that, like he was looking over piece of meat. The captain felt a surge of protectiveness. It sickened him to see Wes being treated this way. It sickened him even more to think of all the young boys put in this same position. Finally, Kavaero smiled.

“Beautiful and well trained.” He let go of Wes’s chin and turned his eyes to Sebastian. “You are a very lucky man, Mr. Henderson.”

Sebastian pulled Wes closer to his body. “I know I am.”

Kavaero straightened up. “Now then, I do believe we had some business to discuss.”

“Gabriel, my love,” Sebastian said, “why don’t you go get yourself a drink.”

Wes gave a small nod before pulling himself out of the older man’s embrace. As he began to walk away, the brunette grabbed his arm. As Wes turned to look at him, Sebastian surged forward and pressed their mouths together again. Sutton raised his eyebrow. Well, that was just unnecessary. Wes had a clear escape, and it was clear that the two didn’t need to keep up pretenses of a functional relationship, so then, why would they…oh. Well, that was certainly unexpected. He would certainly have to talk to both of them once the operation was over.

Until then, it looked like “Ryan Henderson” was going to make some progress after all.


	7. Dr. Ryan

As Dr. Ryan carefully sifted through the papers on her lap, she held back a sigh. It was the last ten minutes of her group therapy session, and she had instructed all of them to write down their feelings and resolutions regarding the upcoming new year on a piece of blank paper. She had then instructed the group to fold the papers in half and place them in the hat that had been set up in the middle of the floor without telling anyone what they had written or why. The anonymity would allow everyone to be able to share their desires, fears, and hopes with the group without judgement or criticism from anyone else. At least, that was the idea. Looking at the papers again, Dr. Ryan bit her tongue to keep her expression blank.

She slid the top paper (I hope to continue to stay with my beautiful wife) to the bottom of the pile and let her eyes flick to the next one. She paused. Reading the words slowly, she took a moment for them to sink in. Then she slid it to the bottom of the pile.

“Alright,” she said, “looks like we’re all accounted for. Let’s get started.”

Ten minutes later as everyone was getting ready to leave, Dr. Ryan called Wes back. “could you stay a moment?" she asked, "I’d like to talk to you about something.”

Everyone looked at her, then at Wes, then back to her. Travis simultaneously concerned and amused. Wes met Dr. Ryan’s eyes for a moment before nodding.

The others slowly filed out of the room.

Travis was the last person out, his feet making small scuffs on the floor as he dragged his feet. Eventually though, he too left the room. Then Dr. Ryan and Wes were alone. Wes rubbed his neck the way he always did when something made him feel uncomfortable.

“So, Wes,” Dr. Ryan said. “I assume you know what I want to talk to you about.” She held up the piece of paper.

Wes shifted in his seat, his thumb scratching a red line into his skin.

“You needn’t be so worried, Wes,” Dr. Ryan continued, “whatever you say to me is in complete confidence, you know that.”

Wes nodded. “I know.”

There was a few minutes of silence as each waited for the other to say something.

Finally, Dr. Ryan rolled her eyes. “Wes—“

“I think I’m in love.” Wes blurted.

Dr. Ryan blinked. Then she smiled at the former lawyer. “So I gathered from your note.” She tapped the piece of paper in her lap. “And how do you feel about that?”

“Good.” Wes said dismissively only to blush slightly as the psychiatrist raised her eyebrow at him. “Okay,” he corrected, “it’s the best I have felt in a long time.”

“That’s good.” Dr. Ryan nodded. “I suppose it would be too much to assume that Travis knows about this?”

The detective snorted. “No way”

“And why’s that?”

Wes scratched his neck harder. “Let’s just say that it’s not someone he would expect.”

Dr. Ryan raised an eyebrow. Someone that Travis didn’t expect? Well, that bore some pondering. If Wes had gotten back together with Alex then he would have no problem telling not only Travis, but the entire group. The same went for if Wes had found a woman to sleep with or even date. Wes had made it clear how he felt about Travis dating people at work, so Dr. Ryan doubted the blonde would go out with anyone from the RHD or any of its affiliates and Wes was too much of a gentleman to date anyone related to Travis or any other friends without asking permission first. Which left only one real possibility: Wes was dating a man.

Unexpected indeed.

Her conclusion must have shown on her face because Wes’s blush deepened.

She could have said something about how Travis would be understanding, after he got over the initial shock, and how he would be more concerned about Wes’s safety and happiness then about him being with a man. How it would be better in the long run if Travis heard about the relationship from Wes’s own mouth rather than a third party. She could say something about how she was proud that he was finally moving on and letting go of the past. But she didn’t do that.

Instead, she dropped her notebook and pen on the floor, placed her elbow on her knee, and lent forward.

“So, tell me about him, this man of your.”

If possible, Wes’s face grew even redder. "He want's to move in together."

"That's great, Wes!"

Wes looked down at his shoes.

"No," she said with some concern, "it's not good.

"No it's a good thing," Wes corrected, "it's a very good thing. I'm just worried."

"About what?"

Looking up at Dr. Ryan's face again, Wes took a deep breath. "In order for us to move in together, I have to let go of the past."

Dr. Ryan nodded.

"But what happens if I let the past go and this thing with Sebastian doesn't work out?" Wes clamped his hands together and started to message his fingers.

"Do you want it to work?" Dr. Ryan asked.

Wes chuckled humorlessly. "I wanted my marriage with Alex to work."

"But this isn't about Alex." Dr. Ryan reminded him gently.

"Isn't it?"

"No, it isn't." Scooting forward on her chair a little, Dr. Ryan looked Wes dead in the eye. "This isn't about Alex, Travis, or anyone else. This is about you and the person you choose to be with. Whatever you two decide to do, it is nobody else's business but your own."

For the first time since the start of their conversation, Wes gave a small smile. "You know, Sebastian said the same thing. Must be an English person thing."

Dr. Ryan raised an eyebrow. So this Sebastian person was English. Huh. She would have to ask about that later.

"You didn't answer my question." She said, carefully steering the conversation back to the point at hand. "Do you want this to work between the two of you?"

Wes swallowed thickly. His eyes darted around the room, following dust particles as though they had the answers to life's secrets. Then, taking a deep breath, he turned back to her and said, "Yes."

Pride filled Dr. Ryan as she beamed at the detective. "That is wonderful, Wes. I am so happy for you."

Wes quickly looked away from her.

Suddenly getting an idea, Dr. Ryan reached into her purse and pulled out her personal business card. Handing it to Wes she said, "Here, take this. If you ever need to talk to anyone, my door is always open."

Taking the card from her fingers, Wes looked at it a moment before slipping it into his pocket. "Thank you."

A sudden ringing filled the room.

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Wes glanced at the screen then got to his feet.

"Sorry, Dr. Ryan, I've got to go."

Dr. Ryan waved her hand dismissively. "Go on, I'm sure Travis has had enough waiting.

Wes snorted. "Yea." Grabbing his jacket, he turned and walked out of the room.

Dr. Ryan watched him go before gathering up her own things all the while silently wishing for Wes's happiness. She had no doubt that she would see both Wes and Travis about this issue at some point in the future, but for now, she smiled. Maybe she wasn't so unlucky with treating the asshole after all.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, my stuff is unbetaed so any constructive criticism is welcome. Also, if anyone has any idea of what they want to see, let me know.
> 
> Lots of love.


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